Milton jackson



(No Model.)

- M; JACKSON.

LATCH Not 191.053..

Patented Jan. 31, "1893 I fnvanior rz/ jack-5'0 71/ "Mi/messes NrrESTATES ATENT Prion.

" MILTON JACKSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE MILLERLOCK COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

LATCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 491,053, dated January31, 1893. Application filed September 14, 1892. Serial No. 445,884. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MILTON J AOKSON, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certainImprovements in Latch Locks, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a post oflice lock box or otherdoor with spring latch mechanism of such character that while the latchcan be withdrawn by the lock in the ordinary manner in opening the door,said latch will, on closing the door, yield more readily than thelatches as usually constructed or combined with the look, so that thedoor can be closed and locked without slamming, which, in the case of apost office lock box door, tends to break the glass and otherwise injurethe door and its fastenings. This object I attain by hanging the latchupon a spring arm independent of the lock and connecting the latch tothe look by means of a slotted bar or equivalent connection whereby themovement of the lock cylinder can be imparted to the latch in order toopen the same,but which will permit movement of said latch independentlyof the lock in closing the door.

In the accompanying drawings:Figure 1, is a perspective view of a postoftice lock box door illustrating my invention; Fig. 2, is a view of theinside of the door; and Figs. 3 and 4, are views of the latch and itsadjunctive devices removed from the door.

The door A may be constructed in any of the usual ways and provided withany of the usual forms of lock, such for instance as that represented atB in Fig. 1. The tapered or beveled latch D,whioh serves,by engagementwith the door frame, to retain the door in the locked position, ismounted upon the upper end of a spring arm F, which is secured at itsopposite end to the door frame in any available manner, the verticalportion a of the latch also carrying a bar G which extends inward to thelock casing and has a longitudinal slot b for the reception of a pin clwhich projects from the movable portion of the look.

In the portion a of the latch is an opening f for the reception of astud or pin 9 projecting inward from the door frame, this pin having atthe inner end a head or enlargement which serves to prevent undue inwardmovement and straining of the spring when the latch is retracted by thelock. The pin also serves to support the latch laterally and resistsanyundue yielding of the latch when an attempt is made to force the dooropen. When the lock is turned in the proper direction the pin 01 willengage with the bar G and withdraw the latch D from engagement with theframe so as to unlock the door, but when the door is closed and thelatch is forced inward by contact with the edge of the door frame, thismovement is not transmitted to the lock mechanism owing to the presenceof the slot b in the bar G. For this reason, and owing to the longspring arm F to which the bolt is hung, the yielding of the latter iseffected more readily than when it is connected directly to the lockingmechanism as usual so that the locking of the door can be effectedwithout the necessity of closing the same so forcibly as to cause injuryto the glass panel in the lower portion of the door.

It will be evident that various forms of slack or lost motionconnections may be used between the lock and latch without departingfrom the main feature of my invention; for instance, a link having aloop for engaging with the pin 01 or a chain connected at one end to thepin and at the other end to the latch.

Having thus described my invention I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent:-

1. The door having lock mechanism, a latch carried by a spring armindependent of said lock mechanism, and a slack or lost motionconnection between the latch and a movable projecting portion of thelock, whereby the retraction of the latch by the lock mechanism isprovided for, and the latch permitted to yield without impartingmovement to said lock mechanism, substantially as specified.

2. The door having lock mechanism, a latch carried by a springarm'independent of said lock mechanism, and a slotted bar providing alost motion connection between the latch and a projecting operatingportion of the lock, substantially as specified.

3. The combination of the lock, the spring arm carrying the latch, aconnection between said latch and lock, and a pin adapted to an openingin the latch and serving to prevent lateral movement of the same,substantially In testimony whereof I have signed my as specified. nameto this specification in the presence of 10 4. The combination of thelock, the spring two subscribing Witnesses. arm carrying the latch aconnection between 5 said latch and lock, and a headed pin adaptedMILTON JACKSON to an opening in the latch,and serving to re- Witnesses:strict the yielding movement of the spring JOSEPH H. KLEIN,

arm, substantially as specified. HARRY SMITH.

